New communication technologies are becoming available on computers. These technologies, primarily based on high speed processors, good connections to high speed data transmission on Ethernet and Internet, and fast rendering of graphics, enable new modes of personal communication on computers such as voice conversation, voice with video conversation, graphic text-based conversation, and electronic mail (e-mail). An example of voice conversation mode of personal communication on computers is Voice delivered over Internet Protocol (VoIP) while an example of graphic text-based conversation mode is Instant Messaging (IM).
VoIP is a term used in Internet Protocol (IP) telephony for a set of facilities for managing the delivery of voice information using the Internet Protocol (IP). In general, this means sending voice information in digital form in discrete packets rather than in the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). VoIP has generally been implemented for personal communication on computers using voice conversation mode as a replacement for physical telephones. In some examples, the graphical user interface (GUI) created as this replacement has been designed with a keypad designed to emulate the keypad of a physical telephone. Thus, the user must click on different numbers on the GUI keypad to make a phone call.
IM provides the ability to easily determine whether a chosen friend or co-worker is connected to the Internet and, if they are, to exchange messages with them. IM differs from ordinary e-mail in the immediacy of the message exchange and also makes a continued exchange simpler than sending e-mail back and forth. These message exchanges are graphic text-based. In order for IM to work, both users (who must subscribe to the service) must be online at the same time, and the intended recipient must be willing to accept instant messages. If the IM software is set to accept instant messages, the IM software alerts the recipient with a distinctive sound, generates a window that indicates that an incoming message has arrived, and allows the recipient to accept or reject the incoming message or a window containing the incoming message.
Under most conditions, IM is truly “instant.” Even during peak Internet usage periods, the delay is rarely more than a second or two. Little or no delay makes it possible for two people to have a real-time online conversation by sending instant messages back and forth to each other.